Arizona Diamondbacks' Christian Walker, right, is met at home plate by teammates Alex Avila and Jarrod Dyson after Walker's three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, March 29, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, opening series 2019

Arizona Diamondbacks' Christian Walker, right, is met at home plate by teammates Alex Avila and Jarrod Dyson after Walker's three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, March 29, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks' Christian Walker drops his bat after hitting a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, March 29, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, opening series 2019

Arizona Diamondbacks' Christian Walker drops his bat after hitting a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, March 29, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Ketel Marte, top, throws to first after forcing out Los Angeles Dodgers' Joc Pederson (31) at second base on a ground ball by Russell Martin, who was safe at first during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, March 29, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, opening series 2019

Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Ketel Marte, top, throws to first after forcing out Los Angeles Dodgers' Joc Pederson (31) at second base on a ground ball by Russell Martin, who was safe at first during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, March 29, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray walks off the mound at the end of the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, March 29, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers, opening series 2019

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray walks off the mound at the end of the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, March 29, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

LOS ANGELES – After a baseball lifetime spent in one organization, A.J. Pollock opened the next chapter of his career playing against that same organization. It didn’t take as long as you might think for Pollock, now a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to get used to being in the dugout across from the Diamondbacks.

“After the first inning or so, it’s kind of another game,” he said. “But it was a little different, a little weird.’

The more difficult transition, Pollock said, came at the beginning of the offseason. The Diamondbacks extended him a $17.9 million qualifying offer in the first week of November. Pollock had one week to make a decision.

Looking at it now, with the benefit of hindsight, Pollock having landed a four-year, $55 million guarantee from the Dodgers, it’s not difficult to conclude that he made the right move in declining the Diamondbacks’ offer. In the moment, though, it was a different story.

“That was a really tough decision on my part,” Pollock said. “It seemed like a great option. I was 100 percent thinking about it.”

Pollock was entering the open market for the first time in his career, but he knew he wasn’t entering it at the perfect time. He did not perform well over his final three months, and he once again missed a significant chunk of time due to injury, an issue that has dogged him throughout his career.

He considered the idea of taking the $17.9 million with the hopes of staying healthy, performing up to his potential and re-entering the market, albeit doing so one year older.

At that point, the Diamondbacks had not traded slugger Paul Goldschmidt, and Pollock was tempted by the idea of one more season with a group of players he knew underperformed in 2018.

He also knew things could change. He had heard speculation that the Diamondbacks could trade Goldschmidt. Asked if that were a factor, he said, “I’d be lying if I said no.”

Another consideration: What if him accepting -- and thus chewing up a large portion of payroll – would have compelled the Diamondbacks to trade Goldschmidt? What if it forced them to make other deals, as well?

“It’s a tough decision where you’re trying to read them,” Pollock said. “Whether we were right or wrong, we kind of made a decision, read the situation and felt like it was probably the best move to decline it. Whether we chose it or not, it would have been great. There are so many good people over there still. It was a tough decision. It really was difficult.”

Once the decision was made, Pollock soon realized coming back to Arizona almost certainly would not happen.

“After I turned it down, I don’t think we talked once,” he said. “They were just going a different direction. I respect that. I don’t say that with any bitterness. I completely understand the business of it. They were very businesslike, very professional. They had an agenda, a goal they wanted to do, and I respect that.”

General Manager Mike Hazen said the Diamondbacks had a strong belief that Pollock’s price tag was going to move out of their range, which, he said, it did.

Pollock’s $55 million guarantee was the sixth-highest of any free agent this winter. The Diamondbacks entered the season with a payroll in the $125 million range, down from last year’s roughly $140 million.

Pollock said he didn’t view signing with the Dodgers as being awkward in that he’s moving over to the Diamondbacks’ chief division rival. Instead, he just viewed them as a team with which he was familiar from years of playing against them.

“It wasn’t like I had 29 teams to pick from,” he said. “They were a team that I liked the way they’ve evolved over the last couple of years and I was really excited when they jumped into the picture and were an option.”

He said he still remains in touch with a lot of former teammates, even if he didn’t engage in much on-field interplay with any of them in Thursday’s opener.

“They’re going to compete this year,” Pollock said. “They still have a lot of good guys on that team. It’s not an exact science. It’s one of those things where you weigh all your options, you talk and it wasn’t completely, ‘This is an easy yes or an easy no.’”